King, Queen Crowned As Keys "Fantasy Fest" Begins
KEY WEST (CBS4) - It wouldn't be the Halloween season in South Florida without Key West's Fantasy Fest, and what would Fantasy Fest be without a King and Queen? As the 10 day celebration began, the royal couple was announced Friday night at their coronation, an even that raised over $200 thousand for charity.
Christopher Elwell and Anne O'Shea were named king and queen of the 2010 Fantasy Fest at the Southernmost Beach Café in Key West, venue for the royal coronation, the festival's kickoff event.
The selection is not a popularity contest. People vying to be named King and Queen spend months raising money for charity.
Elwell and O'Shea posted the largest percentage of more than $207,000 that candidates raised campaigning for the crown.
Proceeds benefit the Keys' AIDS Help organization.
"Having the crown placed on my head was an unbelievable feeling," said Elwell, who was born in the Keys.
O'Shea, an executive producer of the 2010 movie "The Kids Are All Right," was motivated to compete for queen by the death of her 30-year friend Bob Mitchell.
"I believe that had Bob had an AIDS Help, he'd still be alive," wrote O'Shea on her campaign website. "He wouldn't have died, hopeless and alone.
Fantasy Fest features more than 40 events including a costume competition for pets, masquerade march and next Saturday's grand parade down Whitehead and Duval Streets.
This year's theme is "Habitat for Insanity."
The Florida Keys News Bureau contributed material for this report.
